Friday

Saturday

frantically flipping through pages, all my bad dreams are encased in pavement
the last four years of my life stuck in a basement, with dust so thick you can taste it
grin and bear the scars on your skin for the moneyed eyes and ears of modern men
you can sell the stories in a pretty package, the metal in your heart will drain faster then your pen
and theres really nothing you can do, my mouth is a broken record full of old news
a plaster piece of the past stuck in the crooked teeth of a monster mask
I'm staring off my back porch, my winter hands mirror of the gaunt of trees
just give me something to believe, just give me a reason to drop down to my knees

I remember the better times, when our bodies were in their prime
I remember the better times, when our bellies were filled with wine
I remember the better times, when our bodies were in their prime
I remember the better times, these days it seems I'm always looking behind
I remember last December, I remember eyes of ember

sitting lonely with a broken phonograph and phone
that never rings, things fall apart and I sing
songs about the past, nothing seems to last
scratch at the stars until your nails break in half
the same joke can only be funny to so many people so many times
the same song can't bolt the contours of bones covered in corroding lines
the failed design, my skeleton smile looks pretty in yearbook photographs
glaring at a black and white catalog, a collection of faceless features with eyes of glass
and I'm trying to remember the better times, fill in the holes in my head and the holes in my mind
but its searching for something I can't find, you cant rewind the days you have left behind

and you think nothing will ever last
and you say, I got nothing left but your summer dress
and you say, I got everything I need and those thoughts are behind me

better times

sleep deprived eyes, I wake up half alive
my bank account is looking low and all my bills are high
haphazard dreams I got are leaking out the seams
leaving me empty, a self fulfilling prophecy
and I got nothing really new to say
an empty plate in front of me and no dues to pay
and I know I haven't seen you in some days, but some how
I swear I'll make it up to you in some way
you try to bury your troubles with no funeral
your waking life becomes a catalog of material
when all of the self encasing webs you've spun 
have drained your funds, your gas tank and your lungs you got
all these thoughts are empty coffins with no body of work
and I've filled fields of dirt, and I've left holes in the earth

the blinking lights in my room will keep me company tonight
and I am feeling alright
dark stains in my heart but my bones are bright white

this straight jacket grows more comfortable everyday
I'm giving the people I love so much less of a reason to stay
I built this coffin, one lie at a time
I dug my own grave of mistakes its to deep to climb
with everything I know now, it doesn't change a damn thing
just a bigger child, fell out the nest with clipped wings
shoestring budget, I hang my thoughts on synthetic sympathy
when I don my casket who will remember me

empty coffins

Fastened Subject

Ink The Hearts Of Old Friends

Midnight Hunters

warm pockets feat. astronautalis

A friend of mine made me a mixtape when my girlfriend and I broke up last year. I had never heard Andrew Jackson Jihad before this and I quickly fell in love with this song, blasting it in my headphone on bad days. This song has meant a lot to me and I wanted to pay homage by attempting a cover version. If you don't know Andrew Jackson Jihad, I suggest you check out the album "Can't Maintain", it's excellent. 

Otem rellik - Heartilation (Andrew Jackson Jihad)

I just found this on my hard drive. Its my old friend Jon Myers doing an intro for the first live set I ever played. 

Intro for 2006 set by Jon Myers

I just randomly found this in a folder on my computer labeled "mp3 graveyard". It's a piece I recorded one night around 4 or 5 years ago. 

Goodnight

Just a quick remix I did for fun after Sole posted a couple acapellas on his message board. This is a classic Sole jam for me and it was really fun creating a remix. Enjoy!

plutonium (Sole remix)

A remix of The Void from the forthcoming otem rellik album "Blood Bone Piano" by greencarpetedstairs. 

The Void greencarpetedstairs remix

An amazing remix by my roommate Skyrider.

The Husks - SkyRider Remix

Here is the full radio spot I did yesterday on 1190. My recording glitched out a bit so there are some odd parts, but for the most part it's the full thing.

Live on Radio 1190 - 3/15/2013

Holed up in various basements across Fort Collins and Denver, Colorado, otem rellik (Toby Hendricks) has made the best of badly lit recording spaces with dusty floors and creaking ceilings. With a never-ending list of influences, otem’s music, though rooted in hip hop, resonates with a wide spectrum of musical appetites. Whether harmonizing a powerful chorus or spilling out rough, sometimes guttural raps, rellik’s regard for poetic lyricism is underscored by humbling and translucent honesty. otem stands mastermind on stage behind a hollowed-out suitcase full of mostly homemade electronic gizmos, involuntarily forced through a series of pedals and mixers. His showcase of emotional lyrics and clutching musicality has been seen all over Colorado as well as the west coast, Canada, and an eight stop European tour of Germany and France. otem rellik has won the Best Hip Hop award from the Fort Collins Music Association from 2009 – 2011. He has shared the stage with acts such as Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Foot Foot, Pictureplane, Astronautalis, Bleubird, Sole and the Skyrider Band, Restiform Bodies, Cars and Trains, Ceschi Ramos and many more.

Popular tracks by otem rellik